After losing to then-No. 3 ranked Stanford last week, No. 6 Texas women’s tennis is looking ahead to face new and familiar territory heading into Big 12 play. Texas will start its 13-game conference schedule, which includes newly added UCF, Houston, Cincinnati and BYU.
The acquisition of these schools will bear more weight in terms of Big 12 rankings, as every match counts in order to determine the seeding for the conference championship tournament in April. BYU is currently ranked, sitting at No. 45 in the nation with an 9—1 record.
The Longhorn’s matchup against Cincinnati will be the first time in school history facing off against the Bearcats, hosting the match at home March 10. The last time Texas played both Houston and UCF was back in 2021 and 2022, respectively, with the Longhorns sweeping both teams 4-0.
When it comes to the rest of the Big 12, matchups against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Baylor will test the Longhorn’s durability throughout the season, with all teams ranking within the nation’s top 30. Another interesting matchup will be against West Virginia, who will travel to Austin next week in Texas’ second Big 12 regular season match. Despite being ranked No. 61 in the country, they boast an 11—1 record, bouncing back from their lone loss to obtain a current six game win streak.
Just several weeks ago, Texas lost a close matchup against then-ranked No. 3 Oklahoma State in the quarterfinal round of the ITA Team National Indoor Championship, 4-3. After climbing back from a 3-0 deficit, the Longhorns managed to even the series, but came up just short when senior Charlotte Chavatipon fell to the Cowgirls’ Safiya Carrington in the third and final set, ending the almost three-hour long match.
This loss is reminiscent of when Texas played Oklahoma State almost a year ago, losing 4-3 and giving the Longhorns their only conference loss during their Big 12 regular season play. Texas was able to avenge the loss by defeating the Cowgirls 4-3 in the Big 12 Championship tournament semifinal round, before moving onto Oklahoma and capturing its third straight Big 12 tournament title.
Texas has also played Baylor in January, sweeping the Bears 4-0 in the first match of ITA Kickoff Weekend. This win was the team’s first of the season, and was mainly due to senior Chavatipon and graduate student Tanya Sasnouskaya, who both missed the season opener against UCLA due to illness, which resulted in a 5-2 loss for the Longhorns.
Currently standing at 7—3 and with a full roster, No. 6 Texas seems poised to start its Big 12 regular season at home in the Texas Tennis Center against No. 15 Oklahoma this Sunday at 12 p.m.
